Title: Bones & All
Author: Camille DeAngelis
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 Stars
I recieved an Advanced Reader's Copy of the book from St. Martin's Press as part of the Bones & All Street Team.
Bones & All surprised me in so many ways. First of all, it is a book about cannibals written by a vegan! The book is not gory, although there are some descriptive passages. I was not as disgusted as I thought I would be. Of course the idea of eating people is horrifying, but the idea of it being a compulsion was interesting.
I was hooked on the story from the first few pages. Maren is a cannibal. She ate her first person, her babysitter, when she was only a baby. She does not remember it, but she imagines that she does. She does not want to eat people, it just sort of happens. The day after her sixteenth birthday, Maren finds herself alone with some cash and her birth certificate. She decides to go searching for her father, whom she never knew. Along the way she meets others like herself. And, in true coming-of-age fashion, she finds herself as well.
It was easy for me to like Maren. She was just trying to make sense of her life and find a purpose. I know she may not have found exactly what she was looking for, or at least thought she was looking for, but I am glad that she was able to find a peace within herself. I appreciate her love of books, and like her, I would probably stuff my rucksack with more books than clothes or other practical supplies if I were to hit the road.
